Running from it

Today was Sunday so I went to church in the wild.  My outdoor worship was a 15 mile run, and yes, one of the hymns on my ipod was "No Church in the Wild", by Kanye and Jay-Z.

There are plenty of similarities between religion and exercise, but I'll save the trite analogies for another post with an appropriately comedically offensive title.

On my run it was hot, not devilishly hot, but definitely warm.  And I was tired.  And hurting.  So I recalled the one pseudo-religious phrase that seems to take my mind off the misery of the moment. 

"Pain is inevitable.  Suffering is optional."  --Buddhist aphorism

I wish I could say that I was an astute student of Buddha and was able to apply his teachings to my work.  I can't.  I first read this quotation in Haruki Murakami's book, "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running". 

This quotation works for me because it doesn't promise that pain can be delayed or avoided.  It can't.  What it offers is the idea that YOU can control YOUR response to the discomfort that is sure to arrive.  Will you slow, falter, or quit?  Or will you accept the pain, make peace with it, and renew your commitment to your goals and success?

Today I chose the latter.  I felt good after church.